Airport Police Union Renews Call for 100 Percent Passenger and Employee Screening After Flight Attendant Caught Smuggling Cocaine
On Friday an airline flight attendant left two carry-on roller bags behind loaded with over 60 pounds of cocaine after she was pulled aside by Transportation Security Administration officers for a random screening in Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 4. After the TSA officer directed the suspect to a location for her to be screened she was left unattended and witnesses stated that she made a cellphone call, kicked off her shoes and ran from the terminal down the up escalator.
Securing Perimeter Fence is Essential to Airport Security
Airport perimeter breaches have become all too commonplace. According to a news investigation published in April of 2015, at the time, there had been 24 perimeter breaches at LAX since 2004. LAX has seen more perimeter breaches in the past three years than any other three year span in recent history. For example, a mentally ill man scaled the perimeter fence eight times between April 2012 and March 2013 and in two of those instances he was able to reach stairs that led to jets.
Modernization Efforts Must Include Airport Police
As one of the top airports in the world, LAX is undergoing a series of renovation and modernization efforts to continue to draw the record-breaking number of passengers through its terminals. While these changes are important and necessary for travelers to have a positive experience, there has been a neglect in providing basic, functioning equipment for Airport Police.
Public Safety Demands Solutions to Homelessness
Last November, data released by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department showed that Los Angeles County has the highest population of chronically homeless in the entire country, with a disturbing increase of 55% from 2013 to 2015. About 70% of L.A.’s homeless are unsheltered versus sheltered individuals, translating to over 12,500 people living on the city streets and 44,300 countywide.
Stopping Human Trafficking in Transit
On February 9, San Francisco authorities announced that seven teenagers, some as young as 14, had been rescued from forced prostitution in the Bay Area during Super Bowl week. Similar crackdowns tend to make headlines whenever sports championships come to town, because such large events are said to draw increased sex trafficking. While law enforcement and activists frequently focus on these high-profile occasions to raise awareness, the sad reality is that human trafficking is an everyday problem in communities across the nation, and constant vigilance is required to combat it — particularly at our airports.
Los Angeles Airport Police Enter Third Round of Contract Negotiations
On February 24, the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association (LAAPOA), which represents the sworn police officers and firefighters of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department assigned to protect and serve Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), will enter into its third round of contract mediations while all of the City’s other law enforcement agencies including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Port Police have received their contracts.
Functioning Cars Drive Safety
While the Los Angeles International Airport is a world class, state of the art facility, the patrol vehicles used by the officers of the LAXPD are run-down and unsafe. Airport police deserve better than second-rate and hand-me-down squad cars to protect the millions of passengers who pass through our airport.